The European Union has reaffirmed its support for Fiji in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Winston and says detailed discussions will be held in the coming weeks on European assistance in the recovery and rebuilding phase. The assurance was made by the European Commission’s Director for Asia and the Pacific responsible for Europe Aid, Pierre Amilhat, at a meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, with the Attorney-General and Minister for Finance, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. Mr Amilhat said he intended to hold talks with the AG in the next few weeks to canvass a number of areas of support, including initiatives and programs for the sugar cane industry. The two men discussed the Post Disaster Needs Assessment Report on Cyclone Winston, which has been jointly prepared by the European Union, the World Bank, the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank. The Report is a comprehensive assessment of the damage caused by Cyclone Winston and the needs of Fijians living in the affected areas.

European Union represents the most successful process of regional integration and remains the richest continent in the world, says EU ambassador to Fiji and the Pacific Andrew Jacobs. Speaking at the Europe Day celebrations in Suva, Jacobs said despite the difficulties faced by the union, there was much to be celebrated. “Over the years our union has grown from six members in 1957 to twenty-eight, with 500 million people,” Jacobs said. “The dreams of our founding fathers have become a reality and Europeans live together in peace and prosperity, bound together by principles of democracy and human rights. “We have a responsibility to our own citizens and also to the rest of the world.” Jacobs said the union would continue to strengthen its relationship and partnership with Fiji and the rest of the Pacific Island countries in addressing climate change after the Paris Agreement. “The EU and Pacific partners were, and remain, leading members of the High Ambition Coalition that pushed the bar high and got results.

The Netherlands government has pledged 1,5 million euros to Zimbabwe as assistance towards fighting the effects of the El Nino-induced drought. This is part of the 8 million euros that was pledged to Southern Africa by the Dutch government. Speaking at the Netherlands National King's Day celebrations last Thursday, Netherlands Ambassador to Zimbabwe Ms Gera Sneller said this would help enhance mutual relations between the two countries. "El Nino has hit Zimbabwe hard and the Government has been forced to declare it an emergency situation. "The Netherlands is among the countries that have responded to the request for assistance and recently my government pledged 8 million euros to WFP and FAO to help combat the current crisis in the region as well as increase the resilience of people and systems. Of this pledge, 1.5 million euros is earmarked for Zimbabwe," said Ms Sneller.

Last week, the EU’s most senior foreign affairs, development and emergency aid officials travelled to Addis Ababa to pledge a further €122 million in European aid to head off the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the country from heading into a full-blown famine. It was a mark of the gravity of the El Niño weather phenomenon, a rising of surface sea temperatures, exacerbated by climate change, which has the contradictory affects of increasing both flooding, and – in large parts of East Africa and the Horn of Africa – droughts. Ethiopia – a country of some 100 million people – has been the worst affected, with more than 10% of its population reliant on food aid for survival.

Harvesting a crop in Cameroon’s Far North Region is becoming an increasingly uncertain proposition. Armed conflict between Boko Haram militants and Cameroon’s armed forces in the region has made it difficult for some farmers to access their fields, deepening food security, said Felix Gomez, the World Food Programme’s country director (...) Just as problematic, climate change is gradually rendering the traditional agricultural calendar unreliable, making just getting in a crop hard work, farmers in the region say.

The European Commission announces €122.5 million to help Ethiopia deal with a deteriorating humanitarian situation caused by the El Niño extreme weather phenomenon. Today the European Commission has announced €122.5 million for Ethiopia to address the immediate needs of people affected by the worsening humanitarian situation caused by one of the most severe extreme El Niño weather phenomenon on record. This new support aims to combine a humanitarian response and early recovery assistance with initiatives that address the root causes of fragility and vulnerability

The European Union has congratulated H.E Taneti Maamau on his election as the new President of the Republic of the Kiribati. In his congratulatory message to the President-elect the EU Ambassador to the Pacific, H.E Andrew Jacobs expressed sincere wishes for his success in fulfilling the high responsibilities in his future mandate. As the new Head of State, Maamau’s commitment will be essential to ensure further progress for the Republic of Kiribati in building a prosperous and cohesive society.

Ethiopia is being hit hard by one the most severe El Niño phenomenon on record. Numbers speak for themselves – in the past year, the number of food insecure people has increased from 2.9 million to over 10 million at present, write Neven Mimica and Christos Stylianides.This is on top of the almost 8 million chronically food insecure people in the country (...) Since the winter of 2015, the EU has mobilised around €44 million of humanitarian aid to help the victims of El Niño in Ethiopia. In addition, we have just announced an additional €24 million to respond to emergency needs of over 730 000 refugees and some 400 000 Internally Displaced People.

Sugar production in Mozambique will decline this year because of the drought hitting sugar production areas in the south and centre of the country. According to Joao Jeque, the executive director of the Mozambican Association of Sugar Producers (APAMO), in 2015 the sector produced 3.3 million tonnes of sugar cane, but the drought guarantees that this amount cannot be produced in the current campaign. Jeque was speaking on Friday at an international sugar conference in Maputo, which was discussing how to improve the production and marketing of sugar

Cyclone Winston, the most powerful storm to make landfall in the southern hemisphere, killed more than 40 people when it ravaged the Pacific nation. The Uto Ni Yalo Trust, which owns the traditional canoe, sailed into Levuka where houses, schools and roads were destroyed. "Levuka was one of the worst-hit maritime communities in the Fiji group post Cyclone Winston," Uto Ni Yalo Trust secretary Dwaii Qalovaki said."Our task was to carry two tonnes of relief supplies to the community of Baba."